Wednesday, February 21, 2007

And On Top Of That, It's Ugly

Pride. Tradition. Half-moon gussets.

These hats will be worn by Dunbar this season during BP. I think we're only a few years away from the final piece of tradition's wall being knocked down by the big, green dollar sign. It must be something Big Stein battles with every day--phony traditions and standards vs. the illusion that every dollar he spends is for the good of the team.

Wait a minute, what am I saying? They've already played two regular-season games with the Ricoh logo on their uniforms.

By the way, first person to give me the tired old line, "Why don't you look at your OWN team?" LOSES!

A. I'm a Yankee hater both in conjunction with and independent of my love of the Red Sox.

B. I don't go around coming up with ridiculous slogans for my team, claiming they're some kind of wonder boys of this grand tradition previously unseen by human eyes, and then slapping Ricoh logos over said traditions.

I actually noticed the same design watching a clip of Sheffield earlier. So the Tigers are using it, too. I bet a lot of teams will, but it's so weird to see the Yanks mess with "the hat," possibly for the first time ever. (Except the Ricoh logo on the helmets that time.)

Everybody is wearing this style of bp hat- the Sox will be wearing an all red cap. And the game hats won't be wool anymore, either- they're gonna be new futuristic, breathable deals. Who cares? We all wear slouchy, fitted cotton caps, because if you're like me, the game hats look really '80s and they fade great and the brim is a lot more curveable than a New Era game cap.

The teams don't make these decisions; the league does. It's just like how an NFL coach can't wear a coat and tie on the sideline anymore- the league mandates that all coaches wear Reebok apparel. What George wants for his team is irrelevant to what MLB.com wants in its retail space; more caps equals more money. For everyone, since merchandising revenue is shared equally. So don't bitch- those ugly NY bp caps are buying us Ichiro next year...

I think you're wrong. Companies make products and offer them to the league. If a team doesn't want to use it, they don't have to. The Sox and Yanks refused on those weird helmets last season. Then there were the UnderArmour jersies. Some teams didn't have them. As far as the actual material, that could be mandated, but as far as design change, of course the team can choose their own designs. Maybe in Spring Training it's different. But even then, the Yanks have never gone away from their basic uniform that I can remember. They do have the blue shirt with the NY they use, but that's about it.

So, let me get this straight, you're telling me to take the basis of my existence--making fun of the Yankees--and just suddenly say, Eh, I'll just let it go? Is that it? Not gonna happen.

Scratch all that. Here's the point of my post: Yankee fans, who I've been surrounded by for 31 years, constantly brag about their stupid traditions and how they never change the uniform and they are better than me because of it.

They're now wearing a hat with a ridiculous white half-moon on it and an outline around the sacred fucking NY. Regardless of anything else. AND I'M MAKING FUN OF THAT. LIKE I SHOULD BE. How is there anything to argue about this, especially among Red Sox fans?

If they're forced to do it, so what? I still get to make fun of them for the fact that their team is wearing a non-"traditional" Yankee hat. See my first comment for more details.

Here's the link to this new ridiculous hat: http://shop.mlb.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=2638705&cp=&view=all

Still, good job by the Sox for doing the solid color, (there's also an all-blue version for home), terrible job by the Yanks for the white line. Or the designer. Or whatever. You wouldn't notice the half-moon line on ours unless you were looking for it.

Doesn't sound like the teams had a choice on this one, chief. The only two teams that don't have a contrasting stripe or gusset are the Angels and the Red Sox. Every other team has a contrasting stripe or color accent, and several teams have a "stylized logo" that differs from their traditional logo. Did 28 teams decide to go one way, and two the other? Sounds odd to me.

Hi Mary-Ann...I too read an article, I think from MLB.COM, that said that all the major league hats, in play and for sale, will be polyester this year, with a dark underside on the bill for less of a glare for the players. Shades of Georgie! Do the Yankess still s**k? Oh yeah! Ask your writer son. Take care.

Yeah, everyone's wearing these. The Giants ones are black with an orange stripe, they look silly. And there's been tons of chatter over the Tigers boards about how bad the pure white ones look on the dark blue hats... like wings or little pull tabs. Ugh.

Matty's right; this was imposed by MLB. I saw comments by Mussina and (I think) Jeter saying that they really hated the caps. The folks who design this crap really need to start developing some common sense. Gussets?!?

Matty's right; this was imposed by MLB. I saw comments by Mussina and (I think) Jeter saying that they really hated the caps. The folks who design this crap really need to start developing some common sense. Gussets?!?

Yikes! I think the Mets might have the most hideous version of that cap...a black gusset w/a blue cap? The Bucs and DRay ones are pretty awful too.

With that cheesy outline around the 'NY' logo (along w/the piping on the side and the bill), the Yanks' version looks like a bootleg cap that you would see on-sale at a K-mart or a truck stop. Not what I think they were going for.